The Queen plans to scale back her public duties and give Prince Charles a bigger role as ‘co-head’ of the royal family, well-placed sources have revealed.

Buckingham Palace and senior figures in Whitehall began discussing how to deal with the monarch’s advancing years several months ago, the Mail understands.

They concluded that her 64-year-old son – the longest-serving heir apparent in British history – should take a more prominent position representing the sovereign at key events, particularly those abroad.

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Handing over the reigns: The Queen is reportedly planning to scale back her public
duties and give Prince Charles a bigger role as ‘co-head’ of the royal
family

Royal aides denied that Her Majesty¿s recent ill-health is behind the decision to increase the Prince's role

In a sign of things to come, for the first time in 17 years the Queen will be accompanied by her eldest son at the State Opening of Parliament, which takes place today. The Duchess of Cornwall will also join them.

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It follows the surprise announcement by Buckingham Palace yesterday that, in a 40-year first, the Queen will not attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference. Instead, Charles will take her place at the two-day event in Sri Lanka in November.

15,000 ENGAGEMENTS IN 30 YEARS

In the past 30 years, the Queen has completed almost 15,000 official engagements. She has held more than 610 investitures and undertaken 261 official overseas trips, including 96 state visits to 116 countries. She has visited Canada most, with 22 tours, Australia 16 times, New Zealand ten and Jamaica six.

Last year the Queen undertook 425 meetings, visits and investitures – 100 more than in the previous year. But she did not carry out any overseas visits, with the rest of the Windsors taking on trips abroad to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee.

A typical working week this year involved bestowing honours on members of Team GB, including gold medal–winning heptathlete Jessica Ennis; meeting the new Archbishop of Canterbury; and being reunited with a survivor of the July 7 2005 bombings, whom she first met in the aftermath.

In 2012, the Duke of Edinburgh undertook 325 official engagements – 100 fewer than the Queen in the same year. The Duke of Gloucester attended 337, the Duchess of Cornwall 276, Prince William 88 and Prince Harry 61.

Aides reluctantly admitted what has been suspected for some time: that the monarch, who reached the age of 87 last month, was not up to making frequent long-haul trips.

But Charles’ presence at Parliament today suggests it is also part of the carefully-choreographed plan to share the burden of responsibility.

One senior royal source told the Mail the decision for the Queen not to go to Sri Lanka was part of a ‘wide-scale review’ of her travel plans, although they insisted that it was largely ‘business as usual’.

Aides were also swift to deny that Her Majesty’s recent ill-health – she was hospitalised in March for the first time in ten years after being hit by gastroenteritis – had anything to do with the development.

But the fact is that the elderly
monarch, who still conducts more than 300 engagements each year, has
been gradually scaling back her diary at home too and her illness was a
clear sign that her legendary stamina can no longer be taken for
granted.

The Queen now spends only about three
days a week in London or away on official visits, and prefers to read
her official papers over a long weekend at Windsor Castle.

In addition, she is understood to be
concerned not to put too much strain on her husband, Prince Philip, who
will be 92 next month and still accompanies her on most trips.

It is not long since he received hospital treatment for a heart condition and a recurring bladder infection.

The Mail has also learnt that there
has even been tentative discussion of a change in the law which would be
required to allow Prince Charles to become regent.

Historically, regents have only been
created when the monarch is seriously incapacitated – for instance, when
George III was mentally unwell.

Prince Charles, seen here with comedian Lenny Henry at a reception for British Caribbean Communities at St. James's Palace yesterday, will attend the State Opening of Parliament

The Queen receives flowers from nine-year-old Ursula Hall, nine, as she arrives for the rededication of the newly refurbished Temple Church Organ at Temple Church

The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, arrives for the rededication of the newly refurbished Temple Church Organ

Buckingham Palace sources have said the Queen is to allow Prince Charles to take over the long-haul trips because of her age

Constitutional experts regard the idea
of making Charles regent – an effective co-monarch – as a controversial
and indeed unprecedented step while the Queen remains healthy.

Should
it ever be contemplated, it would almost certainly require an amendment
to the Regency Acts.

One well-placed source said the Queen
would ‘never, ever abdicate’ given the unhappy family history which saw
Edward VIII ‘abandon’ the throne in favour of the Queen’s father,
George VI.

On the eve of her 21st birthday she
memorably vowed to serve her country for the rest of her life, ‘whether
it be long or short’.

‘But there is an increasing sense
that she cannot go on as she has been,’ the source said. ‘She is
approaching her 90s. She has extraordinary stamina for a woman of her
age.

Significant: The Prince of Wales will represent the Queen, who is head of the Commonwealth, at the meeting in Sri Lanka in November. He is pictured recently with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

Important: The Queen is pictured in Perth, Australia at the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

But some of the more challenging foreign trips are increasingly not possible for her and more particularly Prince Philip.

CHARLES AND CAMILLA TO ATTEND STATE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT

Prince Charles and Camilla are to attend the State Opening of Parliament today for the first time.

The royal couple will watch as the Queen sets out the government's plans for new laws for the year.

It is the first time the Prince of Wales has attended since 1996 and will fuel speculation that he is taking a more active interest in the role of monarch.

Charles and Camilla will travel in their own procession ahead of the Queen, Clarence House said.

A Clarence House spokeswoman said: 'The Prince of Wales often supports the Queen on state occasions, and his and the Duchess's diaries were clear on this occasion.'

‘Her appointments across the board
are going to be reviewed and Prince Charles, who is already doing more,
will become more prominent.

‘What is being discussed is whether
that happens informally, as it has been for some time, or whether
something more formal is pursued.’

Yesterday’s short statement by
Buckingham Palace that ‘The Queen will be represented at this year’s
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting by The Prince of Wales’ belied
the extent of thought that had gone into it.

The Queen, who has attended every
meeting since 1973, views her stewardship of the Commonwealth as one of
the most important legacies of her reign and would not have taken the
decision lightly.

The next meeting is due to be held in
2015, when she will be 89. Unless it is held in London, her visit to the
Perth meeting in 2011 may turn out to have been her last.

The decision to send Charles may also
have been motivated by the fact that in recent years some Commonwealth
countries have questioned whether the Prince of Wales should
automatically become head of the Commonwealth when he becomes king.

Despite suggestions that the role move
to an elected individual, the Prince feels strongly that it should be
his, and his presence as the Queen’s representative can only strengthen
his case.

Commonwealth Secretary-General
Kamalesh Sharma welcomed the decision, saying: ‘This decision reflects
the wish of Her Majesty at this time in her reign to limit her long
distance travel.’

Significantly, a decision about the future of Charles’s own son, Prince William, is due to be announced in two weeks.

Joint visit: In 2007, both the Prince and the Queen attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda. The Queen is pictured at the time

Duty: The Uganda trip was the first time Charles had been to an overseas Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and was seen as an important event for the heir to the throne

Busy: The decision to send the Prince to Sri Lanka instead of the Queen also signifies a son's commitment to easing the burden on his parents in their advancing years

It is believed that the second in line
to the throne will quit his role as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot for
an army ‘desk job’ which will allow him to take on more royal duties.

This will continue the move to get
younger members of the royal family to take on more official business,
which started in earnest last year when the Queen delegated all her
foreign Diamond Jubilee travel to them.

That is not to say that she or Prince
Philip, who recently returned from Toronto, won’t make any visits abroad
at all. But they will, almost certainly, be extremely few and far
between.

A palace source said: ‘From now on any long-haul trips will be looked at on a case by case basis.

There is no suggestion that the
Queen’s diary will become less busy but it is part of an ongoing process
looking at the Queen’s long-haul travel arrangements.’

According to the Queen’s official
list of engagements, she has seven visits planned for the rest of this
month, both with the Duke of Edinburgh.

Last night the couple attended the rededication of the refurbished Temple Church Organ in the City of London.